Biology Department Faculty
Anthony T. Annunziato
Professor
Anthony T. Annunziato
Ph.D.
Contact
Higgins Hall 401A
Telephone: 617-552-3812
Email: anthony.annunziato@bc.edu
Education
- Ph.D., University of Massachusetts at Amherst
Research Interests
Molecular biology; chromatin assembly and histone modifications in mammalian cells and fission yeast.
Department
Research
Note: Prof. Annunziato's laboratory closed during the pandemic, and has not reopened. He is no longer accepting students.
The nuclear DNA of eukaryotes is organized with structural and regulatory proteins to form the nucleoprotein complex termed chromatin. The primary functional unit of chromatin is the nucleosome, a particle containing histone proteins and approximately 200 base pairs of DNA. Research in my laboratory has been directed toward understanding the processes involved in nucleosome assembly during DNA replication, and the regulation of chromatin function by histone posttranslational modifications. Just as the DNA in dividing cells must be replicated once each cell cycle, so too must sufficient histones (and other chromatin proteins) be synthesized to assemble nucleosomes on the newly replicated DNA. The proper assembly of chromatin during cell division is of vital importance, because the presence or absence of nucleosomes (and the precise positioning of nucleosomes with respect to DNA sequences) can determine which genes are transcribed, and when.
The faithful transmission and assembly of chromatin requires that many independent cellular processes be coordinated. As DNA is being replicated, histones are synthesized, then modified by enzymatic acetylation, transported to the nucleus, and assembled into nucleosomes. Moreover, supercoiled chromatin higher-order structures must first "unwind" to allow access to the DNA, and then condense again after replication is completed. The specific questions investigated in my laboratory included: the modification status of parental histones that are segregated to progeny chromosomes, and the mechanisms of histone deposition onto newly replicated DNA; the involvement of histone acetylation and other epigenetic modifications in nucleosome assembly, and the properties of enzymes involved. The experimental approaches have included biochemical and genetic studies, and the use of antibodies directed against specific histones and histone modifications.
Selected Publications
Annunziato, A.T.聽2015.聽.听骋别苍别听6:353-371.
Annunziato, A.T.聽2012.聽.聽Biochim. Biophys. Acta聽1819:196-210.
Tong K., Keller, T. Hoffman, C.S., and聽Annunziato, A.T.聽2012.聽.聽Eukaryotic Cell聽11: 1095-1103.
Benson, L.J., Phillips, J.A., Gu, Y., Parthun, M.R., Hoffman, C.S.,聽Annunziato, A.T.聽2007.聽.聽Journal of Biological Chemistry聽282(2): 836鈥�42.
Benson, L.J., Gu, Y., Yakovleva, T., Tong, K., Barrows, C., Strack, C.L., Cook, R.G., Mizzen, C.A., and聽Annunziato, A.T.聽2006.聽.聽Journal of Biological Chemistry聽281: 9287鈥�9296.
Annunziato, A.T.聽2005.聽?聽Journal of Biological Chemistry聽280: 12065鈥�12068.
Benson, L.J., and聽Annunziato, A.T.聽2004.聽.聽Methods聽33: 45鈥�52.
Annunziato, A.T., and Hansen, J.C. 2000.聽.聽Gene Expression聽9: 37鈥�61.
Chang, L., Loranger, S.S., Mizzen, C., Ernst, S.G., Allis, C.D., and聽Annunziato, A.T.聽1997.聽.聽Biochemistry聽36: 469鈥�480.
Annunziato, A.T., Eason, M.B., and Perry, C.A. 1995.聽.聽Biochemistry聽34: 2916鈥�2924.
Sobel, R.E., Cook, R.G., Perry, C.A.,聽Annunziato, A.T., and Allis, C.D. 1995.聽.聽Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the USA聽92: 1237鈥�1241.
Perry, C.A., Dadd, C.A., Allis, C.D., and Annunziato, A.T. 1993. . Biochemistry 32: 13605-13614.